Aerospace and Defense Marketing

How to Build a Better Defense Contractor Website

Defense contractors with finely-tuned websites can increase their visibility and opportunities, enhance their credibility and attract top talent and partners.

Despite the technological advancements and enormous changes brought on in recent years by social media, websites continue to play a vital role in marketing a business. In the “old days” of the Internet, a website that was essentially an online brochure could suffice. Those days are over.

Whereas websites used to “exist,” they must now “perform.” A website needs to attract visitors, educate them and convince them to buy.

Here are some ‘must haves’ that are particularly relevant to defense contractors:

Answer who, what, and why. There are 4 basic questions you need to ask about your website:

Will people know what our firm does within seconds?

Will they understand what page they’re on and what it’s about?

Will they know what to do next?

Why should they interact with this site instead of another?

Don’t just sell, but educate. Here are 3 specific things to help:

Offer more than just product content. Offer whitepapers, videos and anything that’s useful and educational

When talking about your products and services, speak directly to your customers (e.g. use words like “you” and “we.”)

Write your product content as if you are helping them solve their problems. Avoid chest-thumping boasts and write as more like “this is how we help you…”

Blog often, and not just about yourself. Blogging is like rocket fuel for your site. It helps with search engine optimization, it establishes your organization as an authority and thought leader, and it drives traffic to your site. Interesting fact: according to Hubspot research, companies that blog get 55% more website visitors.

Avoid corporate gobbledygook. This can be a challenge for some defense contractors. Rather than adding emphasis, gobbledygook makes eyes roll. To avoid gobbledygook like “mission critical,” “best of breed” and “next generation,” read this post from David Meerman Scott.

Don’t hide customer success. Whenever you can demonstrate successes that you’ve achieved for your customers, the risk of placing an order with your firm plummets. If possible, tell stories. And include testimonials if permitted.

Click the following offer to download a copy of Artillery’s Free eBook and to see all of the ’25 must haves.’